1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to media playback and more particularly to media playback synchronization amongst different viewers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Media playback refers to the loading and playback of pre-generated content such as audio, video or audio-visual materials. Media players are common to all commercial operating systems and in most cases, are included as a feature of the operating system free of charge. More sophisticated media players are distributed separately and can handle many different media formats and provide many enhanced features. The ubiquity of the world wide web (the “Web”) has further advanced media distribution to the extent that Web browsers and even modern television sets include functionality for Internet access and Web access therethrough in order to stream media content from the Web directly to the television set.
Even still, the ability for an end user to stream media on demand has not resulted in the end of public performance of media. In particular, movie theaters remain crammed with people on weekends and musical concerts are as popular as ever. Academically, it is believed that people choose to watch media in public places or with other people despite the convenience of the instantaneous streaming of media over the Internet because of the so-called shared user experience. The shared user experience refers to the environment created by the collective viewing of media. For instance, in the context of a movie theater, the audible reaction of the audience to a scene of a movie, whether the reaction is laughter or a scream contributes to the shared experience of watching a film in public. Likewise, the roar of the crowd in watching a sporting or musical event remains part and parcel of the spectator experience separate and apart from the individualistic experience of viewing a sporting or musical event alone on television or on a computer.
Advancements in broadband communications have permitted the use of new technologies in the field of remote common experiences. Online meeting applications, for example, allow different participants to the meeting, each remotely disposed from the other, to commonly view present content in real time. While the content in many cases is a presentation, or a document, other content such as rich media such as audio and video can be shared. The shared user experience thus exists at some level in an online meeting to the extent that different participants to the meeting can audibly or visually sense the reaction of the other participants in real time in response to the presentation of content. Notwithstanding, the shared user experience remains elusive when viewing content alone outside of the real time online meeting.